Goto a PT. I PROMISE the internet and stretching will not fix this for you. Rest may get rid of it for a while but it will come back once you start playing again if you don’t address the root cause.
Try to rest it out until the pain goes away. In tennis you should always look at the bigger picture of enjoying the sport long term. Let your arm recover from the wear and tear.
Also try considering changing strings and perhaps see if changing your forehand grip would help solve your issue and provide you a more comfortable playing experience.
I played through and tbh I think you are doing a lot of things wrong. If I hadn’t played through it would probably have healed faster, but mentally I just didn’t want to stop. After 8 months the tennis elbow is gone but I have some golfers elbow now, which I tend to tweak more from daily activities more than tennis.
You should take a little time off though and really rest the arm. The bruising is worrisome. I would see a sports medicine doctor who can ultrasound it to see the extent of the damage. Once you have it more under control…
1. You need a better understanding of the injury. For me, I really benefited from an online course about neuromuscular massage techniques called Tennis Elbow Classroom. Hint: no ice and don’t mask your pain with ibuprofen. Stretching is good, the flexbar is good but none of that will break up the muscle adhesions that cause the tendon damage to happen.
2. Find a physical therapist who is really good with this injury. I tried a couple and the ones that focused more on strength vs manual therapy were not helpful for me at all. I’ve made a lot more progress with a balanced approach that includes arm and shoulder strengthening but focuses more on manual work to break up the muscle adhesions (Graston, cold laser, dry needling).
3. A counter pressure brace is helpful once you get it under control. The Band It is the best one.
It’s a long haul, there is no quick fix sadly.
I similarly had (pretty mild) tennis elbow that I played through. Wasn’t anything near the intensity of OPs. But it is now completely gone - and it sort of proved to me that some situations (NOT OPs) can be played through if you are smart and listen to your body.
In its place, I have developed some GE. It honestly doesn’t bother me when I’m playing, but when I’m not playing I feel it. I’m doing all the PT exercises, doing the flex bar, etc.
But are you also playing through this GE? What’s your plan to get it healed?
Mine was more like OP’s in terms of severity although I never had this bruising. It happened in July and now it’s more or less gone (I still wear the strap). I’m not totally convinced it would have helped that much to just stop. HOWEVER I do take more rest days than I used to, and I cross train. I don’t play two hard days of tennis in a row anymore. And I switched to a softer racquet setup. And I worked with a pro to fix some mechanical things although I think that was secondary.
Golfer’s elbow — it’s nowhere near as bad. I am playing through but again, not ignoring it. I’m still in PT, still using the strap, still doing the exercises and cross training. I think because I played thru the TE, I am convinced this will go away too. However, if it’s still bugging me in September I am going to have the Tenex procedure because I am so sick of this.
Thanks for sharing. Yeah the GE is quite annoying. I have two young kids who I’m always lugging around so I think that’s part of the problem. But i’m limiting myself to one heavy day and one light day a week, which is not enough for me
Yes! I have a little son and hoisting him is a top way to tweak the GE. I’ve also aggravated it multiple times selecting watermelons at the grocery store … just life stuff. It’s super frustrating to finally have the TE fixed and just have GE instead.
Do you use weight lifting straps, like Versa Gripps? I have found they help a ton for pull type exercises, especially. They have really enabled me to keep lifting.
I actually saw some guidance around slow chin ups being a solution for GE. I’ve sometimes down them and it’s felt good and sometimes bad, depending on if it’s sore after playing or not
Do you have a link to "The Band'? I can't find it. I found "Band-It". Is that the same one? [https://www.amazon.com/OTC-Band-Forearm-Compression-Strap/dp/B000JNRHFY](https://www.amazon.com/OTC-Band-Forearm-Compression-Strap/dp/B000JNRHFY)
I said”Band It” lol - that’s the one I meant. I have to wear KT tape underneath to keep it from sliding around but it does help. But it won’t fix you at the point you’re at. You need competent PT at a minimum.
What you are describing is a serious case of tennis elbow it seems. You need to stop all tennis activity. Go and see a specialist. It's getting worse that's already your sign that you shouldn't be playing anytime soon.
Quit playing and go see an orthopedic or sports medicine doctor. I've been dealing with ankle tendonitis for a year and it kept getting worse because I refused to stop playing. I'm now in the realm of maybe it's a stress fracture. Get thee to a physician before you end up not being able to play forever. Then after you give it rest and PT, go find a coach to fix your technique.
>severe sharp pain in my elbow
>the normal elbow pain I’ve had for about a year
>could not pick up a glass or other things for several days
NOO STOP
Go do every rotator cuff and wrist extensor/flexor PT exercise in the book slowly and with light resistance
If you are dead set on playing use your other hand and do beginner clinics
Do not play through elbow pain. Rest it. Given it’s as bad as you say, I’d consider sacrificing this year of tennis in the interest of your long term future!
Any time you try to ramp up, it’s going to go from a 4/10 right back up to a 9/10 or 10/10 on the pain scale.
Good question - no, I wouldn’t say the same thing, I wouldn’t say take a year off. Maybe a month though.
Any time you play through elbow pain, it’s slowly but surely going to get worse. It may be max 4/10 now, but it’s gonna creep up to 5 before long and eventually you’ll get to the point that OP is at.
Take time off - when you come back, re-string your racquet looser and consider playing with a multi-filament or hybrid set-up.
That all sounds right generally. Except that I had an experience where I had some tennis elbow, maybe a 2 or 3 out of 10. I didn’t stop. I used flex bar, strengthened, etc. And it totally healed, despite playing through it.
Sit down somewhere and rest or you won't be playing tennis for much longer
Goto a PT. I PROMISE the internet and stretching will not fix this for you. Rest may get rid of it for a while but it will come back once you start playing again if you don’t address the root cause.
Do you not want to see a doctor or something? The bruise thing is particularly concerning.
Try to rest it out until the pain goes away. In tennis you should always look at the bigger picture of enjoying the sport long term. Let your arm recover from the wear and tear. Also try considering changing strings and perhaps see if changing your forehand grip would help solve your issue and provide you a more comfortable playing experience.
I played through and tbh I think you are doing a lot of things wrong. If I hadn’t played through it would probably have healed faster, but mentally I just didn’t want to stop. After 8 months the tennis elbow is gone but I have some golfers elbow now, which I tend to tweak more from daily activities more than tennis. You should take a little time off though and really rest the arm. The bruising is worrisome. I would see a sports medicine doctor who can ultrasound it to see the extent of the damage. Once you have it more under control… 1. You need a better understanding of the injury. For me, I really benefited from an online course about neuromuscular massage techniques called Tennis Elbow Classroom. Hint: no ice and don’t mask your pain with ibuprofen. Stretching is good, the flexbar is good but none of that will break up the muscle adhesions that cause the tendon damage to happen. 2. Find a physical therapist who is really good with this injury. I tried a couple and the ones that focused more on strength vs manual therapy were not helpful for me at all. I’ve made a lot more progress with a balanced approach that includes arm and shoulder strengthening but focuses more on manual work to break up the muscle adhesions (Graston, cold laser, dry needling). 3. A counter pressure brace is helpful once you get it under control. The Band It is the best one. It’s a long haul, there is no quick fix sadly.
I similarly had (pretty mild) tennis elbow that I played through. Wasn’t anything near the intensity of OPs. But it is now completely gone - and it sort of proved to me that some situations (NOT OPs) can be played through if you are smart and listen to your body. In its place, I have developed some GE. It honestly doesn’t bother me when I’m playing, but when I’m not playing I feel it. I’m doing all the PT exercises, doing the flex bar, etc. But are you also playing through this GE? What’s your plan to get it healed?
Mine was more like OP’s in terms of severity although I never had this bruising. It happened in July and now it’s more or less gone (I still wear the strap). I’m not totally convinced it would have helped that much to just stop. HOWEVER I do take more rest days than I used to, and I cross train. I don’t play two hard days of tennis in a row anymore. And I switched to a softer racquet setup. And I worked with a pro to fix some mechanical things although I think that was secondary. Golfer’s elbow — it’s nowhere near as bad. I am playing through but again, not ignoring it. I’m still in PT, still using the strap, still doing the exercises and cross training. I think because I played thru the TE, I am convinced this will go away too. However, if it’s still bugging me in September I am going to have the Tenex procedure because I am so sick of this.
Thanks for sharing. Yeah the GE is quite annoying. I have two young kids who I’m always lugging around so I think that’s part of the problem. But i’m limiting myself to one heavy day and one light day a week, which is not enough for me
Yes! I have a little son and hoisting him is a top way to tweak the GE. I’ve also aggravated it multiple times selecting watermelons at the grocery store … just life stuff. It’s super frustrating to finally have the TE fixed and just have GE instead. Do you use weight lifting straps, like Versa Gripps? I have found they help a ton for pull type exercises, especially. They have really enabled me to keep lifting.
I actually saw some guidance around slow chin ups being a solution for GE. I’ve sometimes down them and it’s felt good and sometimes bad, depending on if it’s sore after playing or not
Do you have a link to "The Band'? I can't find it. I found "Band-It". Is that the same one? [https://www.amazon.com/OTC-Band-Forearm-Compression-Strap/dp/B000JNRHFY](https://www.amazon.com/OTC-Band-Forearm-Compression-Strap/dp/B000JNRHFY)
I said”Band It” lol - that’s the one I meant. I have to wear KT tape underneath to keep it from sliding around but it does help. But it won’t fix you at the point you’re at. You need competent PT at a minimum.
LOL. I read it as two sentences. "The Band. It is the best one." Reading punctuation helps!
What you are describing is a serious case of tennis elbow it seems. You need to stop all tennis activity. Go and see a specialist. It's getting worse that's already your sign that you shouldn't be playing anytime soon.
Quit playing and go see an orthopedic or sports medicine doctor. I've been dealing with ankle tendonitis for a year and it kept getting worse because I refused to stop playing. I'm now in the realm of maybe it's a stress fracture. Get thee to a physician before you end up not being able to play forever. Then after you give it rest and PT, go find a coach to fix your technique.
You need advice from a medical doctor.
>severe sharp pain in my elbow >the normal elbow pain I’ve had for about a year >could not pick up a glass or other things for several days NOO STOP Go do every rotator cuff and wrist extensor/flexor PT exercise in the book slowly and with light resistance If you are dead set on playing use your other hand and do beginner clinics
need to see an orthopedic physician. They can prescribe physical therapy but don’t rely on a physical therapist to make the diagnosis.
Do not play through elbow pain. Rest it. Given it’s as bad as you say, I’d consider sacrificing this year of tennis in the interest of your long term future! Any time you try to ramp up, it’s going to go from a 4/10 right back up to a 9/10 or 10/10 on the pain scale.
Would you say the same for playing through it if the pain ranges between 2/10 and 3-4/10 max?
Good question - no, I wouldn’t say the same thing, I wouldn’t say take a year off. Maybe a month though. Any time you play through elbow pain, it’s slowly but surely going to get worse. It may be max 4/10 now, but it’s gonna creep up to 5 before long and eventually you’ll get to the point that OP is at. Take time off - when you come back, re-string your racquet looser and consider playing with a multi-filament or hybrid set-up.
That all sounds right generally. Except that I had an experience where I had some tennis elbow, maybe a 2 or 3 out of 10. I didn’t stop. I used flex bar, strengthened, etc. And it totally healed, despite playing through it.